Skeeter

My prayers are with your brother and your family.

I got mine out of storage last night. My bikes went into storage last August due to some surgery. It felt great to be back on the Venture, but it has that "sloppy" front end feel that sparked some threads on here. It was only a 2 1/2 mile ride from storage to my garage. I'll do the "30 minute steering head adjustment" method tonight and I'm having two new tires installed Friday.

Prayers for Doug and your family. God bless you and watch over you always.

I did the exact same thing two years ago. I sold my 99 RSV and bought a 2010 Ultra Classic. It was a nice bike, but not as nice as my RSV and not as comfortable for me or my wife. I sold the Ultra last fall and bought beautiful low mileage 2008 RSV this spring. I like the styling on the RSV better than the Harley too. The 2nd Gen RSV is definitely the most comfortable bike I've ridden. I love the power of the RSV also. My wife got uncomfortable on the Ultra after a couple hours, but not the Venture. We rode 9 hours home from Ohio in August and she was comfortable the whole way. All my buddies ride HD. I warned them that if they want to stay happy on their HD, don't ride a Venture.

Congratulations! I have two bikes, you'll find a reason to ride both. Hang on to the old girl if you can. It will be good to hear what your wife thinks of the back rest. I've had Electra Glides and Gen 1 and Gen 2 Ventures. The Gen 2 Venture is by far my wife's favorite bike because of the comfort of that passenger seat and back rest. Skeeter

Hey BongoBob, sorry I missed the WNY rally. I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and had to have the prostate and limp nodes removed a couple weeks ago. I'm feeling great, thanks to the grace of God and the prayers of my friends. My Venture is in the garage, under the covers and hooked to the battery tender for the winter. The Doc said I had to stay off the bike for 6 months to heal. I'm grateful to be on the mend, but I am going to miss fall riding. My wife and I love to ride around the Finger Lakes in the fall and smell the grapes on the vines. It won't be the same in a truck this year. I'm looking forward to next riding season and 2019 WNY rally. Skeeter

My wife and I packed up the Venture and rode out to Ohio for a few days. We toured the Ohio State Reformatory, where they filmed Shawshank Redemption. It was a fun tour and an awesome vacation. 850 miles in the sun is good therapy. Ohio is one pretty state. Miles and miles of corn fields and beautiful farms.

Mounted a Kuryakyn luggage rack and went on a long overdue 3 day trip to Mansfield Ohio to tour the Ohio State Reformatory with my beautiful wife. Love this bike!! I'll upload a picture when I get to my computer and reduce the size.

Thanks so much for the great tip Rafterd. Radio is working great.

Hey Bongobob, thanks again for the tip. It worked great. My wife and I rode out to Skaneateles yesterday without a snap,crackle or pop.

I'm sorry for the loss. His family is in my prayers.

Thanks for the tip on how to fix the radio BongoBob and the very generous offer to help me out. I really appreciate both. It sounds like something I can handle. I'll give it a shot tomorrow night when I get home from work. My wife had a long list of errands to for me to run tonight so I didn't have time. Thanks again! Skeeter

Hey guys, I think I have a broken wire between my radio controller on the handlebars and the black box under the faring. When the front wheel is turned to either bump stop, the radio crackles and pops very loudly and the LCD display on the controller flickers. I'm going to pull the outer shell off the faring tonight to see if there's any obvious pinch points or worn wires. I'll check the connections too. I'm open to suggestions if I should be looking somewhere else. Thanks Skeeter

Mounted my iPod holder. Skeeter

I have a personal plate on my Heritage. I didn't get one for the RSV because they're expensive to renew every year. Skeeter

Thanks guys. BongoBob, I'm looking forward to cruising out to Chaffee for the shin-dig. There are some pretty roads in Wyoming County between me and Chaffee. I've been looking for another Gen 2 for several months. I could not believe this deal when I found it. I found this one on CL at 10:30 one night. It was at a small Spider dealer in Malone NY (6 hrs away). The next morning they opened at 8:30, I was on the phone at 8:30 to give them a $500 deposit to hold it until I got there. I told my wife, I'm driving to Malone to get your mother's day present. Having a 300 mile/6hr ride home on my new Venture was THE BEST, despite the fact that is was 50 degrees and I didn't bring a coat. Hey Cowpuc, sorry for the lack of pictures. I haven't had a chance to get some good shots. If you look at my avatar its sill my 99, so I have some updating to do. I will get some shots the next sunny day we have here in Western NY and get them uploaded. Thanks again for the welcome back. It's good to be home. Skeeter

I realize this thread is 5 months old, but I thought I'd add my two cents. I've had two Gen 2 RSV's (1999 and my current 2008) and one Gen 1 Venture (1983). I've also had two HD Electra Glides. I recently sold my Electra Glide Ultra and bought my second Gen 2 RSV. The Harley is an awesome bike, but my wife and I like the RSV better. It's more comfortable for both of us. My wife is 5' 6" about 125lbs. She's not big by any means. I'm 6' 190lbs - again not a big guy. The seats on the RSV are so incredibly soft and comfortable, it's like riding in my wife's Buick LeSaber! The passenger seat offers more support for my wives thighs then the HD did and I have more leg room as compared to the Ultra. There is tons of space between us on the RSV and its quiet so we can have a conversation (ok so the loud pipes on the HD were my fault) Design is subjective, but I've always liked the Gen 2 styling better than the Electra Glide. It think it's the coolest looking touring bike ever made. I fell in love with the first one I saw in a showroom in 1999. Having ridden both HD's and Ventures, I think the HD is a little less intimidating. The center of gravity is lower, the wheel base is a little shorter and the Harley touring suspension makes for a better handling bike than the Venture's "soft tail" style shock set up. My solo bike is an '05 HD Heritage softail. Another beautifully styled machine. It has a similar rear suspension and it does not stick to the road like the HD touring suspension. Let's face it, they've been perfecting the HD models for 100+ years. They're frame geometry engineering is pretty rock solid. I was in my 30's when I had the Gen 1 and that bike was a blast. It was fast and nimble and the styling was ahead of it's time. I thought about picking up another, but now that I've had knee surgery I think the peg position would bother my knee. I like having my legs stretched out in front or me. The rear seat was not as comfortable as the Gen 2 because it has a lower and smaller back rest. My wife and I are so happy to have another RSV. I'm not parting with this one. Skeeter

God bless you and your cute little grandson. Glad to hear he's doing better. I'll say little prayer for his continued recovery and good health.

Hey guys and gals, I just picked up a beautiful 2008 Venture S with 10,000 miles for $3900. I sold my 99 three years ago and bought an Electra Glide Ultra. Great bike, but my wife and I missed the Venture. I sold the Ultra and I'm excited to be back on a Venture. I'll post some pictures soon. I'm looking forward to reading some stories in the forum. Skeeter

I love it! I've had the Gen 1 (1983) and Gen 2 (1999). I currently ride an Electra Glide Ultra Classic and I'm thinking about going back to a Venture with the Gen 3. I'm diggin' the 113ci V twin. Take it from someone who made a good living in design, styling it subjective. You're never going to get everyone to agree on a design. In my opinion, they nailed it. I think this bike is beautiful. The front reminds me of my 71 Ford Torino. I always liked the frame mounted fairing on my Gen 1 and the Harley Road Glide. The fuel economy is disappointing. I get 48 on my Ultra. Skeeter

Trust in God with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understandings. In all ways acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths - Proverbs 3: 5&6 My prayers for you Freebird. In 2012 I lost my job at Kodak after 29 years. I had 5 weeks vacation and a very generous salary, but I too was tired and welcomed the opportunity for a change. I am now back to doing what I love to do, design drafting. I only have one week of vacation and my salary is 70% less than what I was making. Sure, I've had to make some adjustments, but I am so happy at my new job, the pay cut doesn't even matter.